The best and most beautiful things in this world can not be seen or even heard-they must be felt with the heart.   ___Helen Keller

                                                          Simple Natural Parenting

I love being a parent and know it is the BEST thing I have accomplished in my life!  When I was younger and raising my now two older boys, I found I naturally parented  them in a very simple, loving, bonding way.  As a stay-at-home Mom, my choice and priority was to raise two amazing contributing citizens.  I didn't really know the term "Natural (or Attachment) Parenting" but was pretty much following those ideals thru my own desires of how I wanted to raise and be with my boys.  Now, 26 years later, I am raising a beautiful daughter very much in line with the "Natural Parent" ideology, with a bit of bio-individuality thrown in!  I strongly believe, as a Mom that it is important for the health and well being of our children to be the main caretaker & guide & parent to our children.  I do not see where having day cares, strangers, baby sitters and even grandparents raising our children is optimally benefitting our young ones.  I know that sounds harsh, but if we take an honest look at everything going on, I think we can trace much back to inadequate home lives and who was responsible for the physical, moral, spiritual, and heart-centered rearing of our children.  I absolutely loved spending every moment I could with my boys and have flourished as a human soul while raising my amazing daughter!  I am blessed and fortunate (and wisely set myself up to be in this position) to be able to stay at home again, work from home, and homeschool and would not have it any other way!  I believe it is the very best option for my daughter, her soul, her future, and with everything going on in society, the best way to ensure she is healthy and contributing as an adult!  When I was an addiction counselor, the consistent and repetitive stories of their youth (or lack thereof) always involved absent or abusive or severely incapable parents.  To think how many children would benefit from simply having parents who choose to become parents when they are honestly prepared to parent!  
              Natural Parenting can be defined as: "a modern parenting philosophy that focuses on the bond between parent and child.                    It's based on the idea that a parent's connection to their child's needs can have a lasting effect on their child's future.                          Natural parenting can include:
              Attachment parenting: Emphasizes the bond between parent and child
              Sustainable living: Encourages a more sustainable lifestyle
              Holistic health practices: Promotes a holistic approach to health
              Unschooling: Allows children to develop at their own pace."
You can see how all of this falls easily in line with Living Authentically and pursuing a life that is both simple and natural!  It is such a beautiful way to raise a child and creates an amazing lifelong bond.  For us, we include homeschooling from her preferences that allows her to be more in charge of her education creating a sense of ownership, responsibility, and accountability.  By living in the country, we create a space to be in nature and enjoy our outside world.  In support of living naturally we have our pet chickens, which require her to again be responsible for something other than herself, provide love and care externally, and be a steward to another.  We are very green and eco friendly and learn daily about how to re-use, reduce, care for and replenish all of the nature around us!  She is involved with gardening and learning new ways to successfully (darn chickens and racoons!) grow and harvest our own food.  She is always amazed when something we planted, actually grows, and we eat it!!  Funny how that does not impress us when we just buy it off a shelf at the supermarket! She (sometimes to her dismay!) sees us actively pursuing eating fresh, local, organic, and seasonal every chance we can get and to put up for winter what we can in the summer months of bounty.  We enjoy simple things like, cooking together, picking local fruits & veggies from our farmer neighbors, harvesting our own food from our backyard, learning new foods to make from scratch and yes, we still enjoy the treat of a Starbuck's!  I believe in balance, but see it has swung too far away from all of these Simple Natural ways of living.  As for parenting, I whole heartedly see Natural Simple Parenting as an easy organic way to raise children into adults that are whole people, balanced, healthy, joyous, beautiful positive, fountains.....not drains!